Climent and Folgado winners of the EUROSAF Formula Kite Spain Series

Alejandro Climent and Margot Folgado took the titles in the “Pro-Event” while Pau Soler and Pau Cifre won their first championship titles in the Advanced and F-one Amateur categories 

A racing series across Spain five with more than a hundred athletes from all corners of the world have been no problem for the Spaniard Alejandro Climent to return to the throne of the Cutty Sark “Spirit of Adventure” FKSS 2022 for the second consecutive time. Likewise, the regularity in the circuit as well as her results throughout the year have earned the Swiss Margot Folgado the title of champion of the circuit in the women’s category. 

An adverse weather report forced the postponement of the start of the fifth year of the Formula Kite national circuit in early March in Tarifa, giving the baton of the start to the island of Mallorca at the hands of the Club Nàutic S’Arenal. Here, Spaniard Alejandro Climent did not have a good start to the year as, although he finished in the top ten of the fleet in thirteen of the fourteen races contested, Climent finished in thirteenth place. 

He soon recovered from the Mallorcan setback because when the circuit moved for the first time to Cantabrian waters in Gijón, the Spaniard climbed to the top of the podium and never came down again, except in Palamós, where the Brazilian Bruno Lobo moved him up to second place. 

In the last regatta of the year, when the circuit returned to Tarifa for the fourth consecutive year, as he prepared to climb to the top of the podium in the Open Pro category, Climent declared: “I am very happy to have won the circuit again, and that this is the second consecutive time I have won and the fourth time in total since the circuit was created. It has been quite a tough year, with very different wind conditions at every stop. Luckily we have had the pleasure of getting to know new places like Gijón and Ibiza. I’m very happy and I’m looking forward to the start of the 2023 circuit.”

 On the other hand, in the women’s section of the main category, the Swiss Margot Folgado won her first title in the most important Formula Kite and Olympic kitefoil circuit in Europe. Her consistency and loyalty to the circuit have earned the Swiss the recognition as the best female sailor of the entire fleet of athletes from all corners of the world who have competed throughout the six regattas of the year 2022. 

 In the Advanced category, which was created this year to accommodate all those non-professional athletes who want to continue demonstrating their skills on the water, Spain’s Pau Soler managed to finish the year on top of the podium. 

Soler commented after going up to collect his prizes: “I couldn’t be happier to have won the Advanced category. The fleet has a very high level, race after race since the first regatta I have been fighting for the title so it is an honour to finish first in the classification. The organisation of the circuit has been exceptional and I am very grateful that they have made room for athletes like me by creating this category. Next year I will definitely come back to defend my title”.

The young sailor from the Reial Club Nàutic Port de Pollença Pau Cifre dominated over all his rivals and managed to become champion of the F-one Amateur category of the Cutty Sark “Spirit of Adventure” FKSS 2022, just two points behind his teammate Alejandro Gómez. 

At the end of the last race of the year in Tarifa and back to the beach, the young Mallorcan commented: “I’m very happy to have won the F-one Amateur category, now my goal for next season is to move up to the Advanced category so I’m going to work very hard to achieve it and finish in a good place next year”.

Finally, Portugal’s Pedro Marcos retained his Open Pro Master title, while Spain’s Oscar Barberá won the Open Pro Grand Master category of the Cutty Sark “Spirit of Adventure” FKSS 2022 for the first time.

Fotocredit: Toni Forqués/FKSS 2022